Lucknow: Shah Rukh Khan’s unbeaten 10-ball 23 in the last over after the half-century innings of Sikandar Raza (57 runs) helped the Punjab Kings beat Lucknow Super Giants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 match here on Saturday. Defeated the match by two wickets. After restricting Lucknow to 159 for eight, Punjab won the match by scoring 161 for eight in 19.3 overs. For Punjab, Raza hit four fours and three sixes in his 41-ball innings, while Shah Rukh hit the winning four after hitting two sixes.
Matthew Shot scored 34 runs in 22 balls for the team. Raza also took one wicket for 19 runs in two overs in bowling and was adjudged man of the match for his all-around game. For Lucknow, Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets for 18 runs in 2.3 overs and debutant Yudhveer Singh took two wickets for 19 runs in three overs. Mark Wood got two while Krishnappa Gautam and Krunal Pandya got one success each. Earlier, despite captain Lokesh Rahul’s innings of 74 runs in 56 balls, the team Lucknow Super Giants failed to score big.
Punjab’s regular captain Shikhar Dhawan is out of the team due to a shoulder injury and Sam Curran led the team in his absence. Curran bowled brilliantly and was the team’s most successful bowler with figures of three for 31 in four overs. Apart from him, Kagiso Rabada took two wickets while Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, and Sikandar Raza took one wicket each. Rahul got the team off to a good start with a 53-run partnership with Kyle Myers (29) but Krunal Pandya (18) and Marcus Stoinis (15) failed to convert their starts into big innings. During this, Rahul completed 4000 runs in IPL as soon as he took his 30th run.
He is the 14th batsman to do so. Defending the target, Yudhveer got Lucknow off to a good start by removing Atharva Tayde (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (4) in his first two overs. These wickets did not affect Short and he hit two fours against Yudhveer in the fifth over after hitting three fours against Avesh in the second over. He hit the first six of the innings against Krishnappa Gautam in the sixth over but was caught by Stoinis in the cover region off the ball.
After losing three wickets in the power play, Harpreet Singh and Sikandar Raza batted carefully to increase the required run rate. Harpreet hit a four against Krunal in the 11th over but Yudhveer was caught in an attempt to play another big shot. In the 13th over against this bowler, Raza hit two consecutive sixes and fours to reduce the difference between the ball and the required run. Rahul handed the ball to Ravi Bishnoi in the 15th over and he justified the captain’s decision by dismissing Curren after hitting a boundary. Raza brought up his first half-century of the season in 34 balls by taking a single in the next over after hitting a boundary against Wood.
Although on the very next ball, Wood caught Jitesh Sharma (two runs) at the hands of Rahul, Shahrukh Khan opened the account with a six as soon as he came to the crease. Bishnoi then registered his second success by showing Raza the way to the pavilion. In the 19th over, Wood’s ball took the outside edge of Shahrukh’s bat and went over the wicketkeeper for a six. In the same over, Harpreet Brar got out after hitting a four. Shahrukh gave the team a memorable victory by hitting a four in the last over. After being invited to bat first, Myers hit a short six in the opening over and a six against Rabada in the fifth over.
Captain Lokesh Rahul from the other end also hit Rabada and then against left-arm spinner Brar in the last over of the powerplay. The team’s score in the first six overs was 49 without loss. Harpreet, who came to bowl in the eighth over, ended Myers’ innings by running on his own ball and taking a brilliant catch. Myers hit one four and three sixes in his 23-ball innings. In the next over, Sikandar Raza continued his poor run by lbw to Deepak Hooda (two runs). Rahul and Krunal Pandya, who came to the crease, hit one four each against Curren in the 10th over.
The captain completed his half-century in 40 balls by hitting a four against Rahul Chahar in the 14th over. In the next over, Rabada gave double success to Lucknow by dismissing Krunal (18 runs) and Nicholas Pooran (zero) on consecutive balls. The catch of both players was caught by Shahrukh Khan near the boundary line. Marcus Stoinis tried to get the team’s run rate back on track with two consecutive sixes against Chahar in the 16th over. In the next over, Rahul hit Rabada for a six. Curran himself came to bowl in the 18th over and showed Stoinis the way to the pavilion.
The on-field umpire did not give the batsman out after which Curran took DRS and replays showed the ball touching the batsman’s gloves and going into the wicketkeeper’s gloves. In the next over, Arshdeep Singh made Rahul walk after hitting a boundary. In the last over, Curran replaced Myers as an ‘impact player’. Krishnappa Gautam (one run) and debutant Yudhveer Singh (zero), who came in the team, stopped Lucknow’s innings within 160 runs in consecutive balls.
